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The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of incomplete milking during the first 5 days of lactation on the resting behavior of commercial dairy cows. The hypothesis was that the elevated intramammary pressure resulting from milk retained in the udder in incompletely milked cows could lead to a change in lying behavior. This study was a randomized controlled trial in which cows from two farms were randomly allocated into a treatment ( n  = 18) or a control group ( n  = 14). Cows in the treatment group were milked incompletely (10-14 L/days) during the first 5 days of lactation, while cows in the control group were milked as usually done on farm. Resting behaviors were recorded with a data logger. Linear mixed models were used to quantify the effects of treatment group on three dependent variables measured between 2 and 14 days in milk: daily duration of lying time (h/d), lying bout frequency (bouts/day), and mean duration of lying bouts (min/bout). There was no significant effect of treatment on lying time. However, the effect of treatment on frequency of lying bouts and on mean lying bout duration varied by parity level. Incompletely milked cows in second parity had a higher number of lying bouts (11.9 vs. 9.2 bouts/day) and shorter mean lying bout duration (57.8 min/bout vs. 66.7 min) than control cows. In third parity or more, the opposite happened. Therefore, our results suggest that an incomplete milking may be slightly problematic for second parity cows and, possibly, slightly beneficial for older cows. Whether the differences observed resulted from a biologic process (discomfort due to the incomplete milking) or from random error will have to be determined by future research.

A study was conducted to investigate the current resting behavior of malaria vectors in Mutare and Mutasa districts, Zimbabwe. Mosquitoes were captured using pyrethrum spray collection, prokopac aspirator, pit shelter, and exit trap methods. Mosquitoes were sorted and identified using morphological key and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques. The Anopheles funestus group constituted 97%, whereas Anopheles gambiae complex mosquitoes were few (3%). Endophilic collections in both species were five times greater than exophilic catches. The endophilic trait was further demonstrated by gravid to fed index (gravid/fed) of constantly more than 1. Nearly 90% endophilic An. funestus populations were collected on sprayable and 10% collected on unsprayable surfaces. Of the sprayable surfaces, 56% were collected on the roofs, with 44% on the walls. Of those on the walls, 44, 22, and 34% were caught on wall heights >1, 1.0-1.5, <1.5 m from the ground, respectively. Of the gravid An. funestus caught, nearly two-thirds were collected exiting pyrethroid-treated structures, with a 24-h mortality of less than 10%. The PCR analysis of 120 specimens taken randomly from the An. funestus group was all An. funestus s.s. The present work indicates that for effective malaria control in Mutare and Mutasa districts using indoor residual spraying, both walls and roofs must be sprayed., (© The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)